God in a diaper
Luke 2:12
A few weeks ago I conducted chapel at our Lutheran School – Prince of Peace. My devotion was about the birth of Christ and I began with a little guessing game. I told the students and staff to raise their hand when they knew what I was thinking of. These are the clues I gave:
Every human being has used it.
Jesus used it.
I haven’t touched one in years, but in the future I may have to touch one.
You can buy it in a store, but ours was homemade.
Because it was homemade we washed it every day.
Sometimes we touched it 10-20 times a day.
We had to take it with us wherever we went.
My wife and I sometimes argued about who had to touch it.
Half the time we touched it it was really, really wet.
Half the time we touched it it smelled really bad.
I had to touch it because I was a father.
I never enjoyed touching it, but I did touch it because I loved my children.
I may have to touch it again if I become a grandfather.
What is it?
The very first girl I called on was probably in first or second grade. Clearly I had given clues that would lead most people to the same conclusion. Her answer was, “The Bible.” I’m not sure how that fit the clues. I guess for many people the Bible stinks – they don’t like the idea that God created them male and female, or that there is only one way to heaven and it is Jesus’ death on the cross. The Bible is wet with stories about the flood and crossing the Red Sea, and baptism but you don’t wash the Bible and you certainly don’t want a homemade Bible – the Bible according to Bruce wouldn’t help anyone.
I kindly said, “No, it isn’t the Bible” and I quickly added, “It isn’t Jesus either” because that’s usually the first answer to every question asked in a Lutheran church or school.
What was I thinking about in that guessing game? A diaper.
So what do diapers have to do with the birth of Jesus? Well, the Angel tells the Shepherds that’s where they’ll find God, wrapped in a diaper. This will be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” The custom of ancient times was that a newborn baby would be rubbed with olive oil and salt to clean him up from birth. They didn’t have the convenience of a water faucet and sink on every level of the house. Then the baby would have wrapped up – just like our newborns – a diaper and some clothes to keep him warm and give him a sense of security. These are the “swaddling clothes.” Mary gave birth to Jesus, who was the Son of God in the flesh. God’s Word tells us that Jesus was like us in every way and that means he messed his pants and wore a diaper like any other baby.
This is the miracle of Christmas – The Son of God wears a diaper. God created all things through His Son. The Son, together with the Father, is true God, eternal, almighty, unchanging, omniscient, etc. The Son sits at the Father’s right hand and receives the praise of the angels and they listen to His every command. But at His conception and then His birth – the Son of God humbles Himself. He lowers Himself to take on flesh, to be born a human, to wear a diaper and rely on Mary to change Him and Joseph to provide for Him. Anyone hearing this story for the first time or contemplating this unbelievable event would have to ask, “Why?” The answer changed the world and it should change you because that’s the answer. God became man for the world. God became man for you.
The Son of God took on human flesh for you, really for your mess. And don’t tell me you aren’t a mess. I’ve been your pastor and a pastor too long. You’re dreading Christmas because your brother will be there. And you still haven’t forgiven him or he hasn’t forgiven you. Or you’re so depressed you cannot stand to hear another “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas.” It’s so dark where you are you cannot imagine happy. Or perhaps Christmas is messed up because of death – your first Christmas without your husband, or perhaps you’re just thinking of the death of Casey Myers and her unborn son last week in a car accident. It’s a mess and you can’t clean it up, even by indulging in gifts or food or drink. At best we can suspend the mess for a few hours.
Jesus was born to clean up our mess. Saint Luke is the only Gospel writer to mention the swaddling clothes. Now listen to how Saint Luke describes the burial of Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus and “he wrapped it in linen and laid it in a sepculchre that was hewn in stone.” Do you hear the similar cadence of words – wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in manger – wrapped in linen and laid in a tomb?
The Son of God became a man so that He could bear man’s sins. He entered our mess to carry our mess to the cross. The cross was messy. That’s why we have beautiful Christmas cards and flower adorned Easter cards, but no one sends out Good Friday cards. You’ll hear plenty of “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Easter” but no one has wished me a “Cheerful Crucifixion” or a “Happy Death Day.” We don’t mind a baby Jesus and a risen Jesus, but we tend to skip the crucified Jesus. We like happy, not messy. But there is no merry on Christmas or Happy on Easter without the Crucifixion.
The Good News celebrated tonight is that God sent His Son into the world and Jesus carried your sins to His cross. Every mess in your life is the result of sin and Jesus carried that whole mess, your sin, sickness, sadness and sorrow, along with His cross out to Golgotha. Then on that hill, the messiest mystery in all of history happened. God the Father took out His anger at our mess on His Son. The mess of our sins divided the Holy Family – Mary lost her Son in death and God the Father turned His back on His only begotten Son. By Jesus’ suffering and death the mess of sin is taken care of – washed in the blood of the lamb, white like the snow from heaven. Now our messy lives are covered in the white robe of Christ’s righteousness.
Can your mess be straightened out? Cleaned up? Can things be right again? Jesus in a diaper is God’s yes. Jesus on the cross is God’s yes. Jesus risen from the dead is God’s yes. Jesus is God’s answer to the world’s mess, to your mess. Jesus wore a diaper so God could clean you up. Jesus took your sin so you could be forgiven. Jesus rose from the dead so you could be certain that this is true and it is for you. That is why Christ-mas is merry. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Pastor Timm